Story by
Iman Shumpert shares the unconventional reason he invested in Uber: "Black people can't get no cab"
- Story by
- Iman Shumpert shares the unconventional reason he invested in Uber: "Black people can't get no cab"
Many NBA players do not get an opportunity to make investments early in their careers. Most spend their early years rewarding themselves and their families with the things and luxuries they never enjoyed growing up. Because of that, they don't get the chance to grow their money until later in their careers. Some don't even get to that point.
However, 2016 NBA champion Iman Shumpert was different. In his early days in New York, Shumpert invested in a then-startup company and ended up getting a good yield from it. Interestingly, though, his reason for putting up money in the business was unorthodox.
Advertisement
"When Uber first came out, I thought it was a cool idea," said Shumpert. "I like grabbing cabs and stuff. This is back when I first got drafted to New York. When you flag down a cab, Black people can't get no cab. I was like, 'haha haha.' You know what I mean. But this Uber thing is smart though cuz that guarantees I don't look stupid trying to get a cab and y'all just don't stop. It might be raining. I might have to go fast. It made sense."
Shump was drafted shortly after Uber launched
Uber was founded in 2009 as UberCab by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. It made its first test run in January 2010 in New York with 3 cars and launched in San Francisco five months later. Meanwhile, Shumpert was drafted by the New York Knicks with the 17th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft.
Advertisement
After Shumpert signed his four-year $7.5 million rookie contract after the draft, the ride-hailing service company changed its name to Uber. It's unclear how Iman got connected to Uber since the company did not go public until 2019. But he likely invested through an investment firm, a private investor, or a personal connection.
"So I put a little money into it and the moment that little money turned over a couple of times, I took my little money out. Looking back on it, if I sat for long enough, as early as that was, I can't tell you how much I would have made off that. I might have made a contract or two off of that," he added.
It would have been worth a contract indeed
Iman also did not mention how much he invested in the then startup, but he'd always said it was just 'a small investment'. However, with Uber growing from $60 million in 2011 to an estimated $145.7 billion , or 2,428 times larger, the value today would've been worth an NBA contract indeed.
Advertisement
Shumpert made $51 million during his NBA career.
Of that total, $40 million came from the four-year deal that he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015. If he invested $10,000 in Uber in 2011, that amount would be around $24 million today. If it were $20K, it would've been double. And so on.
Related: Nikola Jokic leaves out LeBron James from his Mount Rushmore of basketball
No regrets about taking out his money too soon
But although he knows he could have made a fortune out of his 2011 investment in Uber, Shumpert says he does not regret taking it out too soon, because back then, when the NBA season began, his focus was on basketball and he wouldn't have been able to monitor his investment in case the value dropped.
Advertisement
"Now I know as I get older when I make an investment, I watch my investment a little closer. Like, part of the reason I pulled it out was cuz it was like by the time I realized how it tumbled, I was in the middle of the season. I wasn't really focused on it. So the moment they were like, 'It's doing well. Uber's doing well, by the way' 'Oh, it is? Give me that. I told you it would. Now I'm sitting here with a couple hundred thousand, all happy. Grand scheme of things, it's like I never would have imagined it would have rolled over into how big it became," he continued.
It's unclear if Iman was just giving an example or if the couple of hundred thousand was his actual money. But if it were, then his original investment wouldn't be just worth a contract or two today. It would be equivalent to a super max.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
